ABC of life By Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Awareness, belongingness and commitment hold the key to success. What is the ABC of life? It is awareness, belongingness and commitment. In any field you need the ABC. Are we aware of what we are telling ourselves? This level of awareness is vital for a society because this is what can prevent a crime. With this level of awareness, it is impossible for a criminal to commit a crime.

There was a thief. He went to meet a saint. He told the saint that he had a compulsion to steal. The saint said, “I am not going to tell you not to steal. But when you steal, do it with awareness.” Three months later, the thief came back to the saint and said, “With awareness, I could not steal.”

It is the same with anger. It comes with a burst, you lose it. But what have you actually lost? You lost awareness. You can arouse a passion, and that passion can become an impulse to destroy. But to be creative you don’t need to arouse a passion, you need to be focused and most importantly, you need to be aware.

Now how is one to bring up one’s awareness? You start with simple and small things in life. Things that seem insignificant like hearing the birds singing, seeing the sun set and so forth. This would bring up your awareness.

Awareness nurtures intellect. Belongingness nurtures the heart. And commitment nurtures life. The problem is that creators are only a few. But they have a lot of commitment and hence they succeed!

If we are observing the ABC then we can make a big change in society. Ask yourself the question, do all people in the world belong to me? The day you ask that your spiritual journey has begun. With this context of awareness, you can understand cosmology.

In some temples, there is a tradition called sankalpa. They remind you how old this universe is, and then from there they bring you into this moment. Cosmology brings awareness. Other methods for raising awareness are meditation, breathing and pranayama. In more than 180 companies in India, we have helped employees learn meditation. It made them feel they had a life. They would go home, spend time with their wife and children. Prior to meditation, they would just jump into bed. You need energy and you will not get that only from food and sleep. Meditation and a silent state of consciousness will also give you energy. Whenever you find time, get together and sing and meditate. This will also enhance team spirit.

C is for cosmology, commitment and compassion. Smile more. A bit of humour can keep you out of trouble. There is a tradition in some temples of Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra where they hold a kalash with a mirror. The emotions bothering you will just dissolve and disappear. Look into the mirror everyday and smile. The higher you go up in the corporate ladder, the smile starts shrinking. I measure success by the smile. How strong your smile is will show how secure you are. And that is what, I think, indicates success in your career.

The ABC of life brings expansion. Awareness of existence, belongingness to the whole creation and commitment to human values in life. This will help broaden our vision and deepen our roots.